Chapter 391 The Downhill Road (5,000 words)
Although "Pumping Heart" won the box office championship for two weeks during this not-so-hot period, the good days of "Pumping Heart" will come to an end in the third week .
Because this week, the sequel to the extremely popular work "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" will be released.
The impact of the series of movies is still vivid in our minds, not only with high box office but also good reputation. More importantly, the "Harry Potter" series is suitable for all ages and is suitable for the whole family to watch together.
However, starting from this week, the film "Heartbeat" has been released in major overseas markets one after another, and has achieved fairly good results.
Unexpectedly, the film "Heartbeat" has a much better reputation in East Asia than in North America. Maybe this kind of more heartfelt film can touch their hearts better?
However, due to the common characteristics of low-cost production, the overseas box office of the film is not actually high.
In more than ten countries where it landed in its first week, the film only took in a first-week box office of US$22.51 million, which is indeed not high.
However, Warner Pictures and Disney are not dissatisfied with Gilbert Jr. just because the box office performance in North America and overseas is not as good as before.
The reason is also very simple. "Pumping Heart" meets the market performance of a small-cost production and even exceeds expectations.
According to the current box office situation, the global box office of more than 150 million US dollars is what "Pumping Heart" can achieve.
The overall investment in this film is only US$12 million. With the current box office alone, "Heartbeat" has completely achieved profitability.
Of course, the reason the cost was so low was because Gilbert was only paid a symbolic salary of one dollar.
Otherwise, with Gilbert's current net worth, he would be able to make two "Heartbeats" movies based on his salary alone.
Of course, the most critical aspect of box office sharing and copyright peripheral sharing is still the same as Gilbert Jr.'s previous director contract, with no changes.
From the side, it proves that Gilbert Jr.’s intention in shooting this movie is indeed to praise Scarlett Johansson.
This has forced many powerful people in Hollywood to re-examine the relationship between Gilbert Jr. and Scarlett Johansson, and then be careful to avoid offending others for no reason and incurring revenge from Gilbert Jr.
For a movie that has already achieved profitability, what more can Warner Pictures and Disney ask for? Of course only a satisfied smile.
Robert Iger even told his subordinates: "I initially thought that the box office of this movie would not be very high, and I was even prepared to make a loss.
But I didn't expect that the movie would make a profit, which was an unexpected surprise. "
Doug Walter said: "It doesn't matter even if the movie makes a loss, it's just over 10 million US dollars. Little Gilbert is a person who understands proportions, and he never makes any mistakes in big projects.
What's more, the film not only made no losses, but even made a profit. What more can we ask for? "
In fact, at the stage where little Gilbert is now, his current status will be shaken only if he makes three to four movies in a row, each of which is an A-level commercial film with an investment of over 100 million.
For a small-budget movie like "Heartbeat", Little Gilbert would be fine if he lost ten of them.
The profit generated by the "Lord of the Rings" series was enough to make dozens of "Heartbeats" movies.
Therefore, Disney and Warner still have full confidence in little Gilbert, not to mention that little Gilbert is currently filming a fantasy adventure in Mexico with an investment of 130 million US dollars. This is the most important project.
However, the joy of the two companies is not known to outsiders. In public perception, it would be big news if Little Gilbert's movie box office in North America does not reach the usual level.
Sure enough, in the third week there were gradually more voices saying that Little Gilbert was about to go downhill. The evidence is that at the end of the third working week, the North American box office of "Heartbeat" was only 68.065 million US dollars.
This is the lowest North American box office of Gilbert Jr.'s career since "The Return of the Dead".
Although the film is still being screened, given the box office performance of other works, "Pumping Heart" has firmly established itself as the third-lowest film at the box office.
The third-to-last box office refers to the ranking of all Gilbert Little movies, which ranks third-to-last.
As a result, the media became excited. As a pioneer media opposed to Little Gilbert, the "Washington Post" immediately reported the incident on the front page of its entertainment section.
The Washington Post first listed Gilbert Jr.'s past achievements, then combined it with the cyclical changes of other directors, and finally came to a conclusion.
"To sum up, every director will decline when he reaches his peak. It's just the difference between fast and slow. Spielberg and George Lucas have had this experience.
"The Return of the King" is already the pinnacle of Gilbert's career as a director. Once he reaches the peak, his decline is bound to happen. "Heartbeat" is just the beginning. "
As we all know, the nature of the media is actually that of a dog. It wavers when the wind goes well, but adds insult to injury when the wind goes against it.
Now, let alone the "Washington Post", a media that was anti-Gilbert, even the media that used to brag about supporting Little Gilbert also switched camps and began to badmouth Little Gilbert.
Those who didn't know thought that little Gilbert was in some kind of trouble and that his career was really about to suffer a setback!
Only a few media outlets, such as the Los Angeles Business Journal, believe that although "Heartbeat" did not sell as well as Gilbert Jr.'s previous films, it still made a profit.
Even from the perspective of return on investment ratio, the return on investment ratio of "Thumping Heartbeat" is higher than that of many films, including several of Gilbert Jr.'s own films.
Unfortunately, the circulation of the Los Angeles Business Journal is not as good as those of the big media, and what the public wants to see most is excitement, not facts.
So for a while, little Gilbert was going to be on the decline and was going to be finished. The trend spread throughout North America.
The decline has also spread across the North American Internet, and many netizens are discussing it. Faced with such a trend, Little Gilbert's fans certainly didn't believe it and fiercely resisted.
This level of fierce resistance is just like the fierce response made by fans of the brothers in previous lives to defend their idols.
Of course, there are also some fans who are not determined and believe the media at this time.
This does not mean that they will no longer watch Gilbert's movies, but they are worried about Gilbert, and worry that Gilbert will decline in the future as the media expected.
"Lewis, do you really believe what the media is saying? Will little Gilbert go downhill?" Salati Merton looked at her friend dissatisfied.
Lewis frowned and said: "I think what the media said is not unreasonable. It is true that the performance of Little Gilbert's movie was not very good.
What if the next movie doesn't perform well? Has he reached a creative bottleneck? "
Salati Merton expressed her disappointment in her friend: "I really don't know why you would have such an idea, Lewis, the movie "Heartbeat" is a good one!
The media reviews and online reviews are all good, and the box office is also very good.
Do you want the box office of a movie with an investment of 12 million US dollars to be compared with those with an investment of hundreds of millions of dollars? Is it necessary to have a global box office of 7.8 billion or even more than 1 billion US dollars? "
Another companion interjected: "To be honest, even if it is an A-level commercial film with an investment of over 100 million, it is normal for it to have poor box office performance."
“That’s right,” Salati Merton continued: “What’s more, “Pumping Heart” did not incur losses, and even made a profit.
How can you say that a movie that is profitable and has a good reputation is the waterloo of little Gilbert's career? That doesn't make sense. "
Lewis apologized: "I'm sorry. I was weak-willed and listened to the media."
"It doesn't matter, just be firm in the future. We have to believe in little Gilbert, he is a genius." Salati Merton will always have full confidence in little Gilbert.
Although Gilbert Jr. is thirty-two years old, still saying that he is a talented director is somewhat out of date.
However, fans who grew up with his movies still habitually call Gilbert Jr. a genius director. I've been used to it for so many years and I can't change it.
Salati Merton once again told this small group of movie fans: "Little Gilbert is also a human being, not a God. He also needs rest and a buffer.
Even if you don't like this movie, the most you can do is not watch it. "
"No, I didn't say I didn't like it. I gave it a 10 on IMDB." Lewis argued. "Nonsense, I obviously saw you score five points..."
"I didn't, you got it wrong."
Seeing that the two were arguing again, Salati Merton stopped it again: "Okay, okay, okay, whether it is ten points or five points, it is a thing of the past.
There are many people out there who are jealous of little Gilbert, and now many people are adding insult to injury, thinking he is finished.
At this time, it’s time for us movie fans to play a role. I suggest that you go back and prepare on your own, mobilize other fans, and join in this battle to defend little Gilbert's reputation.
We need to show those shady villains how united our little Gilbert fan community is. "
Everyone should claim it and go back separately to prepare and join in the online battle to protect little Gilbert's reputation.
In fact, there is no need at all. Words of mouth will never be as satisfying as actual actions.
As long as Little Gilbert's next movie can maintain its previous status as the king of summer movies, the media and some netizens who are now mocking it will soon change their stance again.
Of course, many people now believe that following this trend, little Gilbert's next movie will definitely be a hit and his performance will not be good.
Disney and Warner themselves did not expect that an issue they were not very concerned about would be so hyped by the outside world.
If they hadn't clearly known that "Heartbeat" was making money, both Disney and Warner would have thought that Little Gilbert was facing the collapse of the century.
Therefore, the media owned by Disney and Warner are still supporting Little Gilbert, but this hype is no longer a matter of one or two media, but all media across the United States are involved.
In fact, NBS TV station and TNT TV station even launched a special program to discuss whether Gilbert's directing career is going to decline.
Judging from the results of the show, several experts invited believe that although little Gilbert will not go downhill too fast, after all, in the circle of directors, little Gilbert is still considered a young man.
But then little Gilbert will fall into a period of silence, which is the result of most experts' analysis.
Only Roger Ebert, Little Gilbert's number one fan, gave a completely different result. He believed that experts had ignored a basic fact, that is, "Heartbeat" was actually profitable.
How could the experts regard a profitable movie as Little Gilbert's Waterloo? This goes against the essence of the facts.
Some experts countered that although "Pumping Heart" achieved profitability, it did not achieve the same high profitability as the "Lord of the Rings" series, so it was a Waterloo.
Now it was Roger Ebert's turn to be surprised and angry: "I really don't understand, please, "Heartbeat" is only a $12 million investment.
Do you want this movie to be as popular as those big commercial movies with hundreds of millions of dollars of investment?
In order to prove that little Gilbert has indeed suffered a career disaster, have you completely ignored the operating rules and nature of the film market?
Or do you think little Gilbert is God? Even a small-budget movie can achieve the same profit scale as the "Lord of the Rings" series or "The Matrix"? "
Roger Ebert's series of rhetorical questions left the experts speechless.
It is true that Roger Ebert has a point in asking. In fact, these experts say such things against their will just to take advantage of the flow of little Gilbert.
Anyone who cares will know that "Pumping Heart" is definitely a successful movie. After all, it has generated profits, has a good reputation, and is not a bad movie.
You can't say that a small-budget masterpiece that generates profits is a bad movie, or even use it to attack Gilbert Jr. and say that he has gone to Waterloo.
But if everyone could face the true nature of the matter, there wouldn't be so many disputes and fun in the world.
Roger Ebert argued hard for little Gilbert, but with the fuel of other media's hype, little Gilbert's encounter with Waterloo has changed from a rumor to a fact in the eyes of many people.
Behind this, there is a lack of participation from many other Hollywood giants. These giants really hope that little Gilbert will encounter Waterloo.
So even if little Gilbert did not encounter Waterloo, the giants artificially manipulated the media to create a Waterloo for little Gilbert.
As a result, little Gilbert got a new nickname, called the Napoleon of the film industry. He was invincible in the early stage, but then encountered Waterloo, and his director career plummeted.
Not to mention, in the past ten years, countless people have been looking forward to misfortune for little Gilbert and hoping that he will fail.
Perhaps out of jealousy, perhaps out of a dispute of interests, it was impossible for everyone to win little Gilbert into the arms of his company.
If you can't get it, then destroy it.
The giant companies themselves, or behind them are large media groups, control many media. It is obvious that Disney and Warner alone can barely maintain a disadvantageous situation.
The most urgent task is to see whether Gilbert Jr. himself stands up and responds to the Waterloo issue. This is the key.
However, both Robert Iger and Doug Walter called Gilbert Jr., and after telling him what happened, they advised him to make the movie with peace of mind and not to get involved in the turmoil of public opinion.
However, this public controversy cannot be avoided. Although the filming in Mexico is closed, many media reporters cannot enter.
But for the premiere of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," Gilbert Jr., as series producer, will definitely be back.
Many media reporters were already waiting for him at that time, preparing to cover shocking news. The media is best at taking quotes out of context.
However, before Little Gilbert himself responded, the media interviewed many friends in Little Gilbert's circle, as well as many of his women.
Scarlett was the first to bear the brunt, because legend has it that little Gilbert made this movie to flatter her. Now it has become a failure, so she still has to explain, right?
However, little Gilbert specifically asked Sheena Boone not to respond, so as not to cause unnecessary trouble.
In addition, Charlize Theron has recently resumed business activities and frequently appeared in front of the media, and she was also asked this question.
Charlize Theron captured the essence of little Gilbert's pretending to be stupid: "Huh? Waterloo? Sorry, my academic performance is not good, so I don't understand historical issues."
After the reporter tried his best to popularize the story of Napoleon to Charlize Theron, Charlize Theron once again responded seriously: "You said Waterloo was a failure of the movie? But as far as I know, didn't the movie make a profit?
Making money is called failure, so what is success?”
As we all know, conspiracy theories have always been popular in North America, especially about going to the moon. People in other parts of the world are convinced, but people in North America are very skeptical.
What Charlize Theron means is that what you people say is just as unreasonable as questioning whether the moon landing is real.
At the very least, provide evidence to support your arguments, rather than baseless speculation or malicious bending of facts.
But if the media would be fair and impartial and present evidence, then it would not be the uncrowned king.
The same question was asked to DiCaprio. DiCaprio did not have the good temper of Charlize Theron. He listed a series of Gilbert's achievements in sharp words, causing the reporter to flee.
Tom Cruise also responded by supporting Gilbert Jr.
"If we go by this standard, then many of my films will be considered losses, and they will be Waterloo. But look at me now, I am still a Hollywood superstar, and I have not declined."
What Tom Cruise said makes sense. He had previously filmed several movies with a box office of 70 to 80 million in North America and over 100 million in global box office. At that time, no one said that he had encountered Waterloo.
There are many reasons for this turmoil. The first is that the box office did not reach Gilbert's usual performance.
Secondly, the media's malicious actions, coupled with the fueling of many people, led to this incident.
But fundamentally speaking, some remarks cannot affect little Gilbert, so only many fools think that little Gilbert has really gone downhill.
Similar quarrels continued for several days, and finally, little Gilbert rushed back from Mexico to attend the premiere of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets."
(End of chapter)